Have you heard of Notan?
Teaching an introductory drawing class required me to
reeducate myself in the basic design elements of artistic expression. As a watercolorist, line and mark making may
not take on much importance, but composition is always part of the planning
stages of a successful watercolor painting.
First using a thumbnail sketch to plan value, movement and provide a
center of focus, I then have a guideline to use for the final painting. These thumbnail sketches are valuable tools
for artists of all 2D mediums.
I came across a mention of Notan in looking for exercises in
simplifying composition. The Japanese
term, Notan, is defined as dark-light harmony, according to Mitchell Albala, in
his painting and composition workshop at www.mitchalbala.com. Any artwork described as having a strong or
beautiful composition has as its foundation, a strong and balanced Notan. The Notan reveals the underlying structure of
a composition, the essential spirit, taking a value study to its most simplistic
form, a strict black and white, dark-light arrangement. If a composition has a
soul, then the Notan is the doorway to that soul. Learning about the Notan teaches us to be
better composers, to make better choices
in the preliminary stages of a work to bring greater order and power to those
works.
It’s always interesting to come across a new idea in the art
world, or at least new to me! Even
though value studies are a common and
necessary step in composition planning, defining the Notan takes it one step
further. Any help in creating a stronger
painting is a step in the right direction.
More information about Notan can be found on Albala’s website, or at
other sites about Notan. Learn something
new – it’s as simple as black and white.
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